How handy is your andy really?

It's only when you finally make that decision to go organic and chemical free, that you begin to realise how difficult it actually is to avoid chemicals altogether. They seem to be in EVERYTHING. No sooner had I changed to free range, grass fed and organic food, then I happened to look at the ingredients in my body creams, toothpaste and soaps and realised it was actually pointless only being careful with my food if I was going to slather my body with all manner of dangerous toxins, so I started cutting chemical body products out of my life. Then I happened to glance at the sunlight liquid in my kitchen cupboard and I thought, "Oooooh nooooo...."

The kitchen cupboard under most people's sinks is full of dangerous toxins. Yet we keep them within arm's reach of any child or adult, in the same space that we store and cook our food! It suddenly dawned on me one day that I didn't want things in my house that were hazardous, not only to OUR health, but to our future children's health. You hear so many horror stories of kids going into the cupboards and drinking laundry liquid, or staysoft and having to be rushed to hospital to have their stomachs pumped. What if they picked up rat poison or weed killer? Some people actually keep those in their kitchen cupboards too!

It's understandable. Our parents kept all their household cleaners etc, under the sink too. THEIR parent's probably did the same. We just tend to stick to what we know. The difference is, these days we KNOW what goes into those products... or we should! We have the power at our fingertips like never before! I googled the ingredients (because I don't have any in my house to look at!) and downloaded a pdf file with all the info you need on sunlight liquid INCLUDING first aid instructions and fire-fighting measures! Turns out sunlight liquid is combustible because it contains ethyl alcohol. Granted, it won't sustain burning unless there is other fuel nearby, but it makes you think a bit. It also contains:

• Diethanolamine - refer back to this post for info on this chemical. Just a couple of reminders: Skin and eye irritant which causes contact dermatitis. Hormone disrupting chemicals that have been restricted in Europe because continued absorption results in liver and kidney cancer. It's easily absorbed through skin to accumulate in body organs and the brain.
• Ethyl Alcohol: You may CHOOSE to drink alcohol, but did you know you were absorbing it through your skin when you washed dishes? Never mind if your child accidentally swallows some. It IS toxic in high quantities as we know. Even if you're a teetotaler, you are still getting alcohol into your system every time you wash dishes. Remember, water helps your body absorb things faster.
• Dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid: A 0.5% to 1% concentration in water caused significant irritation to eyes and skin. It is corrosive and may cause irreversible damage to eyes and skin. If you ingest it it can cause irritation of the mouth, esophagus and stomach, diarrhea, intestinal distention and occasional vomiting. When heated or on contact with strong acids, it produces highly toxic fumes.
• Sodium lauryl ether sulfate: refer back to this post for info on this chemical. Animals exposed to SLS experience eye damage, depression, laboured breathing, diarrhea, skin irritation and even death. Young eyes may not develop properly if exposed to SLS because proteins are dissolved. SLS may also damage the skin's immune system by causing layers to separate and inflame. When combined with other chemicals, SLS can be transformed into nitrosamines, a potent class of carcinogens. Your body may retain the SLS for up to five days, during which time it may enter and maintain residual levels in the heart, liver, the lungs, and the brain.

These are just SOME of the ingredients but I think that list is enough cause for concern? Think about when you wash dishes. Do you wear protective gloves? I always have because I hated the way my hands got all pruny and dry. I didn't realise I was actually protecting myself as well because I now KNOW why they get all pruny. It's because the outer layer of your skin, your epidermis, which is meant to protect you from absorbing anything, has been breached due to over-exposure to the water, which is filled with chemicals. That means that those chemicals have reached your inner layer of skin, or dermis, where all your blood vessels are and they are now floating around in your system making their way through all your organs and tissues. It's not at all unlike the body creams and soaps you use that are SUPPOSED to make you feel and look younger. The SAME ingredients that are supposed to be healing and nurturing, are in the cleaners you use to clean your floors, your toilets and your dishes.

Handy andy is another one. We have all used it for years without thinking about the consequences. If you download the data sheet (which you will find by googling "what are the ingredients in handy andy") you will see, at point number 2, that "this product is a transferred substance under the hazardous substances ... act. It is classified: harmful by inhalation and if swallowed. It is a skin and eye irritant ... harmful to the aquatic environment."It has a warning symbol on it to let people know it's a dangerous toxin and yet we keep it in our kitchens.

They warn you to keep exposure to a minimum, to wash hands thoroughly after handling, wear eye/face protection, avoid breathing vapors, to not allow contaminated work clothing out of the workplace and finally, to avoid release into the environment and to collect any spillage. That last point actually makes me want to laugh! We use it in our homes on a daily basis. It coats all our cooking surfaces and our floors! We wash it down our sinks where it travels all the way through the environment! There's no question that it ends up in an ocean and they have already pointed out that it harms aquatic life. Point 4 on the document tells you to contact the National Poisons Centre if you feel you have been harmed by this product...

Knowing all of this, the scientists take their product to the marketers and say, "How can we sell this to an unsuspecting public?" Well, that's easy. Don't put ANY of the above points on the packaging. That'll be a bit of a deterrent! Bet there were even a few laughs over that one...

They DO place a few warnings on, in all fairness, but it's the bare minimum and not enough to make us concerned. Especially since they make them seem so safe in the adverts! We look at those ads and we have a good laugh at some of them and we go out and buy the product because surely they wouldn't advocate something that was actually hazardous to us and, hey, the ad was funny! Unfortunately they would, and they do. Because it's all about the money at the end of the day, not your safety, and not the environment's safety.

In our pre-organic days, we were given a bottle of bubble bath from Woolies. After we finished the bottle, I kept it because it was a really nice glass bottle and I thought I could use it for something. (As you may know, I like to recycle things!) These days I use it for our mouthwash which I make for us (because have you SEEN the rubbish that goes into mouthwash?!) I was brushing my teeth the other day and I happened to actually read the writing on one side of the bottle. It said, "Keep out of reach of children." Then it had South African Poisons Information Centre and the number to call. This is bubble bath. Kids LOVE bubble bath. They ALWAYS manage to swallow some bath water. And we are bathing them in stuff that is considered dangerous enough to warrant putting the South African Poisons Information Centre number on it...

I don't want to go into my issues with beauty products again because I covered that quite a bit in my post "I can live without my Loreal? Could you?" THIS post is all about household cleaning products. But the frightening thing is, they are practically THE SAME ingredients. Put a pretty label on it and make it smell better, and you are fooled into thinking it's safer, but it's not. And it's not that different either.

And, once again, I challenge you with this thought: it's your body, it's your life, you can choose whether or not to take this stuff to heart. But once it leaves the drain in your house, it becomes a worldwide problem. Just imagine every household, in every suburb, in every city, in every country, on  every continent, using all these chemicals and putting them all back into the environment. Is it any wonder our oceans are running out of fish and our planet is suffering? 

If you won't consider it for yourself, consider it for your environment. We all have to share it. It seems rather unfair to leave the saving to a select few, and there are VERY FEW in comparison. If we could all stop supporting the big corporations, who have NO respect for us or our environment, maybe they'd be forced to start going natural. It's possible to do. Everything I use to clean my house is natural. I can water the garden with the water I use to wash my dishes because it's biodegradable. The same applies to my laundry and even my car! I don't use anything that says, "Keep out of reach of children." Most grocery stores sell organic cleaners so there really isn't any excuse. And I don't buy the money issue.

If you clean up your life food-wise, you save money because you no longer buy processed foods, only real, whole foods. If you stop buying all those unnecessary beauty products and stick to only what you need, you will also save money. That gives you a little extra to put into household stuff if it's needed. You don't need separate "bathroom cleaner" and " kitchen cleaner" and "floor cleaner" and "surface cleaner". You DO know you can use one product to do ALL of the above and it'll still do the same thing, right? You've been brainwashed into thinking you need different cleaners for different things and you end up buying them all and you give all your money to Unilever in the process. I don't blame you for thinking that. The marketing is brilliant. Every time I am even remotely tempted to buy something harmful, all I have to do is think of what it is doing to us, and to the environment, and I realise I'd rather go without something else, than cheat that way. It's not worth it and it's not worth the guilt I will feel after using it.

I challenge you to go into your cleaning cupboard, or your laundry, and REALLY look at all the poisons you store in your house on a daily basis without a thought. Is it any wonder cancer is so prevalent today and that global warming is such a real threat? WE are doing this, granted, unknowingly, but we are doing it to ourselves and to those around us.

I think it's time to stop. Don't you?

I can live without my Loreal. Could you?

Have you ever thought about what happens to the body lotion you rub on your hands, or your face? I mean, REALLY wondered? I'm sure you know it gets absorbed by your skin, but then what? Well, it doesn't just disappear. Once it's been absorbed by your skin, it becomes part of the system. It goes into your blood stream and, eventually, finds its way to your organs and body tissues, the way everything else we ingest does, and your body either uses it, or loses it. You may be thinking, "Did she say ingest? We don't EAT the stuff, we just lather it on our skin." Well, that brings me back to my first question. Have you ever REALLY thought about what happens to it all?

Let's stop for a minute and take a look at a women's typical beauty routine and all the various products she uses in one session. I'm a woman myself. I KNOW it's a LOT;) The routine probably starts with a shower or bath so that will mean soap, shampoo, a possible hair mask or treatment followed by conditioner. If it's a bath, then it might very well be accompanied by bubble bath or bath salts or some kind of oil or milk soak to "soothe and soften" skin. Once she's out of the bath or shower, she will likely lather herself in body lotion from top to toe and then apply some underarm deodorant. She may also then lather herself with a sun protection cream of some sort. She will wash her face with a special face wash product, apply a toner (probably of the same brand because they always recommend it right?) and then, finally, a day or night cream depending on the time of day (more than likely ALSO the same brand) She'll probably brush her teeth and maybe use a mouthwash as well and then she will apply makeup to her face, possibly spray a hair straightening, heat protection spray, in her hair and then flat iron it, after which she will put a smoothing serum over her hair and THAT is just ONE beauty session. It'll start all over again in 8 hours or so and continue ad nauseum until she wakes up one day and decides she's over it and is giving in gracefully to the aging process. For some women, that day will NEVER come;)

Now let's discuss what happens to all that stuff she's used once she's walked away from the mirror. The outer layer of our skin, the epidermis, is the part of our skin we're most familar with. It prevents our bodies from permanently absorbing everything it comes into contact with. The layer just below it, the dermis, is where most of our blood vessels are found and it just LOVES water and water-based substances. You'd think, given the fact that your skin was designed to repel water, that it wouldn't absorb anything but actually, the longer your epidermis is exposed to water and water-based substances, the more absorbent it becomes. 

Think of what happens to your skin when you lie in the bath for a while, or swim in a pool, or the ocean. You begin to resemble a prune. That's because your skin has become more absorbent from over-exposure to water. And water makes it easier for oils and other substances, to travel through the epidermis, to the dermis below. In effect, your skin is actually like a big sponge. If anything sits on it for long enough and there is water to help the process along, it's going to be absorbed. Pretty much EVERYTHING you put on your skin, contains some water so we can presume that ALL the products listed in the beauty routine above, have disappeared into the epidermis and been absorbed into the water-loving dermis, beneath it. 

As I said before, your dermis contains most of your blood vessels. It stands to reason, then, that all the stuff that is absorbed through your skin, will enter your blood stream and be transported around the body to various organs and  tissues in much the same way as food or drink that we ingest. The only difference is that it doesn't pass through your stomach first, because you it didn't enter through your mouth. But the end result is the same as if you did. 

It's also important to remember that your skin works both ways. It is highly absorbent but it is also your body's largest organ for eliminating waste. If you use products that prevent it from working the way it should, and clog up your pores, your body will not thank you for it.

So why am I blogging about it? Well, do you have any idea what the standard ingedients are for body lotions, soaps, toothpastes, mouthwashes, toners etc, are? I bet you look at that list of ingredients and start zoning out before you've even read 3 of them. I know because I used to do that too! They're extremely difficult to even pronounce, not to mention that most of us don't have a clue what the names mean! We just assume that they're good for us because the adverts say so. You all know my view on that and, in case you've forgotten, you can read it in this blog post. I was talking about food there but it's all the same concept really.

"Pure and natural" are the latest buzz words of the beauty industry but don't be too taken in by them. The beauty industry is largely unregulated which means companies can slap the word "organic" on something that is loaded with chemicals, and bad for the environment and for YOU, without you even knowing it. They only SAY "pure and natural" because they know you'll be taken in by it. It's ok, I know you are, because I was too and I see so many of my friends falling victim to it too.

It's time to educate yourself so you can better protect you and your family, not to mention the environment. Here is what you need to look for, AND start avoiding:

• Benzoyl Peroxide: Possible tumour promoter, it produces DNA damage in human and other mammalian cells and it's also toxic by inhalation. It's an eye, skin and respiratory irritant. 

• DEA (Diethanolamine), MEA (Monoethanolamine) and TEA (Triethanolamine): Skin and eye irritant which causes contact dermatitis. They are hormone disrupting chemicals that have been restricted in Europe because continued absorption results in liver and kidney cancer. It's easily absorbed through skin to accumulate in body organs and the brain.

• DMDM Hydantion and Urea: Two out of many  different preservatives that often release formaldehyde (yes, the stuff used to preserve body parts in a lab!) which may cause joint pains, skin reactions, allergies, depression, headaches, chest pains, ear infections, chronic fatigue, dizziness and insomnia. It can also irritate the respiratory system, trigger heart palpitations or asthma and aggravate coughs and colds. Other possible side effects include weakening of the immune system and cancer.

• Dibutyl Phthalate: Used mainly in nail products as a solvent for dyes and as a plasticizer that prevents nail polishes from becoming brittle. Phthalates are also unlisted fragrance ingredients in many other cosmetics. Dibutyl phthalate is absorbed through the skin. It can enhance the capacity of other chemicals to cause genetic mutations, although it is not a mutagen itself. In laboratory experiments, it has been shown to interfere with hormone function (endocrine disruption) causing reproductive and developmental problems. Dibutyl phthalate is banned in cosmetics in the Europe.

• FD&C colour pigments: Look for p-phenylenediamine or colours identified as “C.I.” followed by a 5-digit number. They are synthetic colours made from coal tar, containing heavy metal salts that deposit toxins into the skin causing skin sensitivity and irritation. Absorption of certain colours can cause depletion of oxygen in the body and death. Animal studies have shown almost all of them to be carcinogenic. 

• Fragrances: This can indicate the presence of up to four thousand separate ingredients, many of them toxic or carcinogenic. Clinical observation proves that they can affect the central nervous system causing depression, hyperactivity, inability to cope and other behavourial changes. They also cause headaches, dizziness, violent coughing and vomiting, skin discoloration and irritation and allergic rashes.

• Mineral Oil or Petrolatum: A petroleum by-product that coats the skin like plastic, clogging the pores which interferes with the skin's ability to eliminate toxins causing acne and other skin disorders. Slows down cell development and skin function and results in premature aging. Used in many products such as baby oil which is 100% mineral oil!

• PEG (Polyethylene Glycol): Potentially carcinogenic petroleum ingredient that can alter and reduce the skin's natural moisture factor. This could increase the appearance of aging and leave you more vulnerable to bacteria. It's used in household cleaners to dissolve oil and grease and is found in everything from personal care to babycare products and sunscreen.

• Propylene Glycol and Butylene Glycol: They easily penetrate the skin and weaken protein and cellular structure. PG is strong enough to remove barnacles from boats! Anyone working with PG is required to wear protective gloves, goggles and clothing and must dispose of any PG solutions by burying them in the ground, because it penetrates the skin so easily. It can cause brain, liver and kidney abnormalities and yet there is NO warning label on stick deodorants where it can be found in VERY high concentration.

• Sodium Lauryl Sulphate and Sodium Laureth sulphate: This ingredient is used in car washes, engine degreasers and garage floor cleaners and yet its also found in 90% of personal care products that foam. Animals exposed to SLS experience eye damage, depression, laboured breathing, diarrhea, skin irritation and even death. Young eyes may not develop properly if exposed to SLS because proteins are dissolved. SLS may also damage the skin's immune system by causing layers to separate and inflame. When combined with other chemicals, SLS can be transformed into nitrosamines, a potent class of carcinogens. Your body may retain the SLS for up to five days, during which time it may enter and maintain residual levels in the heart, liver, the lungs, and the brain.

• Siloxanes: Look for cyclomethicone and ingredients ending in “siloxane” (e.g.cyclotetrasiloxane)
Cyclomethicone and siloxanes are used in cosmetics to soften, smooth, and moisten. These compounds can, however, irritate the skin, eyes, and lungs. They are also suspected of interfering with hormone function (endocrine disruption) and of liver toxicity. These chemicals are persistent. In other words, they don’t easily degrade and can remain in the environment long after they are rinsed down the shower drain. 

• Triclosan: a synthetic “antibacterial” ingredient – with a chemical structure similar to Agent Orange! Commonly found in antiperspirants, deodorants, cleansers and hand sanitisers, it is registered it as a pesticide, giving it high scores as a risk to both human health and the environment. It is classified as a chlorophenol, a class of chemicals suspected of causing cancer in humans. Its manufacturing process may produce dioxin, a powerful hormone-disrupting chemical with toxic effects measured in the parts per trillion; that is only one drop in 300 Olympic-size swimming pools! Hormone disruptors pose enormous long-term chronic health risks by interfering with the way hormones perform, such as changing genetic material, decreasing fertility and sexual function, and fostering birth defects. It can temporarily deactivate sensory nerve endings, so contact with it often causes little or no pain. Internally, it can lead to cold sweats, circulatory collapse, and convulsions. Stored in body fat, it can accumulate to toxic levels, damaging the liver, kidneys and lungs and can cause paralysis, suppression of immune function, brain hemorrhages, and heart problems. Its widespread use in popular antibacterial cleaners, toothpastes and household products may have nightmare implications for our future.

Scary isn't it? And yet we have all bought into the propaganda and think we absolutely cannot live without our Redken/Clarins/Loreal etc. If we are forced to live without them, we will all turn into aging hags, have dry, straw-like hair, saggy boobs, hairy skin, dirty teeth and smelly breath, not to mention BO!

Well, I for one KNOW I can do without all that stuff, because I do it on a daily basis! It wasn't something that happened overnight. Let's face it, those products cost a bomb. Who, in their right mind would throw out a half finished bottle of Kerastase?! So I finished everything I had and tried very hard to keep my mouth closed so I didn't swallow anything. I couldn't do much about the absorption issue but I just kept telling myself that it wouldn't be for much longer.

I am pretty chuffed with myself these days because there is not ONE product that I use that contains chemicals:) What's also REALLY nice about that is that I know I am not harming the environment in any way AND, even more importantly, nothing I buy, is tested on animals. And I'll tell you why I'm even more smug;) I pay far less for my beauty products than I used to! In the past, I could easily spend R1000 on my cleanser, toner and moisturiser in one shot, sometimes more if I was cornered by one of those persistent sales ladies (I know they are doing their job and I always felt bad walking away after they'd spent ages giving me their best sales pitch and that's why I used to always get taken in!) These days I spend under R150 and it's all working really well for me. I love how healthy my hair feels, I love how my skin feels and I can rest easy knowing that my body is not getting fed cancer-forming toxins on a daily basis.

Over the last year I have experimented with a lot of products in order to find the ones that work for me and, when I have struggled too much to find the right ones, I have made my own. I now make my own soap, lip-ice (yes, lip-ice also has all of those horrible ingredients in it!) and body creams. The only thing that is slightly costly, is the body moisturiser, but it is a price I am willing to pay because it covers my entire body and I am simply not willing to take a chance. Besides, I save so much more money on my other beauty products that I don't even notice the slight extra cost. I also have found that, since I have cut out all processed foods and started only eating real, organic foods, that my skin seems to shine from the inside out, without much need for a mountain of beauty products. It's always better to work from the inside out;)

Some of you are saying, "Really? How ridiculous are we going to get?! First we have to watch what we eat, now we can't use any beauty products?" Yes, of course you can. You can do anything you want. It's your body and your life. Just remember that every choice you make has a ripple effect. It's going on YOUR body, and going down YOUR drain, but once it's joined the system, it becomes part of something bigger and then it's no longer just YOUR problem. It eventually affects our rivers and oceans. You will say that your parents, and their parents used it all, but don't tell me that they're fine, and don't tell me that our environment is fine, because you would be just plain wrong. Again, you can read about it in this blog post.

At the end of the day, all of these products never existed for our grandparents, grandparents and they managed just fine. These days, we have learnt what we need to do to take care of ourselves and that is something positive we can take from the boom of civilisation. So we don't need to grow old and haggard looking before our time, but we can do it responsibly, thinking that, maybe, industry has gotten just a little out of hand in their quest to make money. Maybe we don't need as much as we thought we did. Maybe what we do affects more than just us. But if you've understood this blog post, then you KNOW it does affect YOU personally, and your family.

It's time to take your health into YOUR hands. Start reading ingredients on things before you buy them. You do it with food, because you don't want to gain weight, so why wouldn't you do it with your beauty products? Is weightloss more important than life? I don't think so and I know you don't. Take the power out of the hands of the big corporations, and put it back into yours.

Because you're worth it;)